Tails from the slums - the story of Reno and Rude
by Maria-smith7
Summary: This is a story of Reno and Rude as children in the slums and their first run-in with the Turks. This is a complete story but I hope to make it a series of stories.


The sulms are a prime example of the lowest point in humanity. It's a city beneath a city full of crime, poverty, hate, garbage and death. While the people on upper Midgar plate lives a life luxury the people beneath the city live in shacks made out of scrap metal or whatever material they can find. It is literally a dumping ground or trash can for the upper plate. The most common occupations in the slums are thief or gang member, if you call that an occupation, while everyone else is either a drunk or drug addict. There are some hardworking people who try to live a decent life but they are few in numbers…no wonder it is called the slums.

Reno lived his entire life in the slums. He had never even seen the sun before but knew what it was. He was raised in poverty but knew his mother tries to do the best she can. She gives him a roof over his head and food on the table, even though the food did more to fill the stomach than provide much nutritional value. The problem with the slums is even if you wanted to work an honest job the only employment available for a woman are jobs like prostitute, seamstress, waitress, or stripper. Sure, some lucky women were able to own their own business selling clothes they make or some own their own bar but they usually need lots of start-up gil or have ties to the many gangs who could help them 'obtain' property.

The only place Reno's mom was able to find work was as a waitress at a strip club in their sector. As a waitress she normally didn't have to strip but if one of the girls didn't show for their shift her boss would make sure one of the waitresses would take their place stripping. She tried to hide the fact that she was a stripper but Reno knew. Not from her, but from the comments by the kids in his neighbourhood and from overhearing some of the male adults talk about how good his mom looked dancing. Despite all this Reno knew she was a good mom who did the best with what she had. She never brought men home, she never talked about her job, she didn't do drugs or drink, and she made sure Reno knew every day that she loved him. Reno knew all this and would never want to replace her for anyone which is why he was willing to fight to his death at just the age of 7 the night it happened…

It was like any other night his mother worked. Whenever his mother worked he would stay with Mary who was his mom's best friend and had a son Reno's age. Reno liked spending his time at Mary's house, it was the closest thing to a real family he as ever seen and he felt safe there. When Reno and his mom were walking back to their house Reno felt like something was different that night, but at the time he couldn't figure out what it was. Looking back he thinks his mom also knew something was not right that night because they walked a little faster then usual. Everything after that seemed like a regular night, Reno would get a snack before bed and he talked about his day with his mom listening attentively. Then his mother would tuck him into bed and kiss him goodnight.

Reno was just falling asleep when he heard a loud scream. He knew it was his mother so he jumped out of bed and ran into her room. It was dark but he knew someone else was in there with her. He switched on the light and saw a man sitting on top his mother who was laying on the bed half naked and bleeding from her face, she wasn't moving. The man was in his late 20's or early 30's with short dirty blond hair and tanned skin. He had dark eyes with dark circles under them. His eyes were so dark you couldn't even tell where his pulps ended. Seeing his mom lying defenceless and bleeding caused a wave of rage to rush over Reno. He ran across the room to try to stop the man but he knew deep down there was nothing he could do. The man grabbed Reno by the neck and picked him up off the ground. Reno tried squirming free from his hand struggling to breathe. The man then stands up from on top of his mom and pushes the boy up against the wall hard causing him to lose his breath. The man drops Reno to the floor causing him to gasp for air. The man pulls out a knife and kicks the child in the face causing him to fall on his side trying hard not to cry.

The young boy struggles to prop himself against the wall. The man kneels down so he is face to face with Reno. He then grabs Reno's chin with one hand and rubs the knife along his cheek with his other hand, not hard enough to cut it but enough so Reno could feel it pressing hard against his skin. "You're never too young to learn how fucked up life can be down here kid," the man says with a grin, "but I'm going to make sure you never forget this." The last thing Reno saw after this was the man's dark eyes staring right threw him and the man's fist coming towards his face.

When Reno woke the next morning he only had a faint memory of the night before until he saw a small puddle of blood on the carpet triggering everything to come back to him. He felt a sharp pain coming from the back of his head and his face when he stood up. He could taste blood in his mouth and his whole face and head ached. That is when he remembered what happened and looked left towards the bed where the body of his mother laid covered in blood. She was completely naked and her face was so bloody it was barely recognizable. Every inch of him wanted to go over and try to wake her up but he already knew she was dead.

In the slums there are no phones and no police, there is no one to call upon in emergencies unless you have family or friends who are willing to help. Reno only knew of one person who he could go to for help so he left his mother's body to go see Mary. Reno was in such shock walking to Mary's that he didn't even notice the people around him staring at the young boy covered in blood walking down the street. Reno knocked on Mary's door and as she opened she was shocked by what she saw. Not only did have a big swollen black eye he had two long deep cuts one under each eye which caused blood, now dried, to run down his face and clothes.

"Reno?" Mary whispered horrified, both of her hands covering her mouth as she tries to hold back tears. That was the only thing Reno remembered about that day...

***four years later***

By the age of 11 Reno was mostly self-dependent. After his mother's death Mary offered to take him in and he did stay there for the first few months but he felt like he was intruding her their family. He knew there would always be a bed for him at her house and a plate on the table but he felt bad taking from a family who is struggling like he did with his mother when she was alive. Still, it was the closest thing he had to a family and he did stay there on occasion having dinner with them every odd night.

Mary's son Rude, who was his best friend growing up, was now like a brother to him. The times when Reno stayed around the house the two were inseparable. They would spend their days looking for scrap metal to trade for things they need or sell for gil but they mostly earned money doing jobs for the local gangs. The gangs would need runners to transport packages to fellow gang members so the two boys were always eager to assist. The reason they would use neighbourhood kids was because the many gangs were very territorial and for a gang member to step foot on another gang's territory is a death sentence but local kids moved around freely. Plus other gang members are less likely to target a neighbourhood kid for gil and drugs. Reno and Rude mostly worked with this one gang called Mayhem because a friend they grew up with was a member.

All the money Reno and Rude made together they would give to Mary, except for the odd gil or two they would spend on themselves. When Reno was alone he would make money pick pocketing from strangers and use the money to buy food for himself or supplies. He didn't like to pickpocket with Rude around because he didn't want to get Rude hurt if he got caught. Any extra money he would give to Rude's family the next time he went there. Rude had three sisters and a baby brother so they needed the money to help feed the children and buy medicine for Rude's middle sister who had a chronic lung illness from all the air pollution.

When Rude's mother would ask where Reno and Rude got the money they would tell her it was from selling items they found in the train ghost yard. Rude's father worked long hours fixing the train tracks on the lower Midgar plate. It didn't pay much because Shinra figured it was more cost efficient to pay someone in the slums less than any minimum wage worker from the upper plate. One day Rude's father happened to be there at dinner when the two boys brought home some money for the family. When the two boys explained to Rude's parents they earned the money selling used parts from the train yard his dad looked a little skeptical but didn't say anything. Rude noticed the look on his dad's face and had a feeling that his dad knew they were lying or at least twisting the truth.

Kenny was the older neighbourhood kid they grew up with who was a member of the Sector 2 gang called mayhem. All of their moms were friends growing up so he knew the two boys since they were toddlers. Kenny would always offer the running jobs to Reno and Rude first and paid the highest price for his transports. He would always offer the boys a chance to join the gang but they knew that joining any gang in the slums was like putting a gun to your head. Once you identify with a gang in the slums you are a target for all the rival gangs.

Reno and Rude were walking towards the train graveyard when Kenny came running up behind them. "Hey guys, I have a job for you that will pay big" Kenny said as Reno and Rude stopped to look back, "but it's a little different from what your use to."

"What?" Rude said looking skeptical, he knew that any job that paid well was going to be dangerous.

"Well actually this jobs is more for Reno," Kenny said slapping the redhead on the back, "my boss need something lifted from a guy and we all know this is Reno's area of expertise."

"Who?" Reno inquired.

"Word has it that some Turks are down in the slums looking for something and I need you to lift a keycard from one of them," Kenny said looking a bit nervous. Kenny knew there was not a lot of people in the slums who were good pickpockets and could get near the Turks without looking suspicious. Reno was the only person he knew who could do the job.

"How much?" Reno asked lifting one eyebrow. He knew what Kenny was thinking and wanted to milk this for as much gil as he could get. He could see Rude looking at him in disbelief and knew his friend was not going to want him to do this.

"1000 gil" Kenny replied with a smug smile. Considering that a regular transporting job pays between 50 to 100 gil, depending on the area, Kenny figured Reno would jump at the offer.

Reno snorted laughing, "Are you kidding?!" he said turning his back to Kenny ready to walk away. "You want me to risk my life for a measly 1000 gil. I would want at least double that before I even consider messing with a Turk."

Kenny paused thinking as Reno continued walking away from him. Rude started to follow Reno as Kenny stood there by himself. "Wait!" Kenny said holding his hand out singling the boys to stop. He ran a few feet towards the two as they turned around to look at him. "Here's the thing, my boss only gave me 1000 gil for this job but if you do this I will get another 1000 from him to make 2000, deal?"

Reno, not wanting to seem too eager, paused for a second to think about the offer. Rude looked nervously at Reno, he did not want Reno to do this. He heard stories of the Turks from his dad and none of them were nice stories. "Sure, where are they?" Rude heard Reno say to Kenny confirming the bad feeling he had in the pit of his stomach.

"I heard two of them were having a few drinks at the Sector 6 bar." Kenny said turning and walking towards sector 5, "we better get going they might not be there for long." The two young boys looked at each other quickly and then follow the older boy towards sector 6.

When the three boys arrived at the wall market pub they couldn't help but noticed how busy it was outside. There were a few small groups of people standing around the front entrance talking and drinking. Reno, Rude and Kenny stops in the alley next to the bar to discuss the plan. "So what do these Turks look like?" Reno asked never seeing a Turk before. It wasn't too often Shinra employees come down to the slums with the exception of the Shinra train employees who work on the lower plate line and the occasional Shinra guard.

"Just look for the two clean cut guys in the suites," Kenny replied glancing over at the crowed in front of the bar, "the keycard you are looking for should be in their pockets or on a tether attached to their belt."

Reno took one last look at Rude before turning and walking towards the bar. Rude knew this was a bad idea but he also knew there was nothing he could say or do that would make Reno stop. The young redhead was lucky that bars in the slums didn't have age limits and rules on who could drink in their establishments. Hell, Reno has even heard of kids younger than him working at bars so it is not out of the ordinary for someone his age to walk in a bar and order a drink.

The wall market pub was particularly busy that night even for a Friday and Tseng hated crowds. The young Turk looked around at the all the people drowning their sorrows in the dark dingy bar. "I don't see why we couldn't just go back up to the top and have a drink there?" the young rookie Turk asked his superior.

"I kind of like this place," Veld said looking around, "Plus even though it's Friday our work isn't done yet. We still haven't found what we were looking for." Veld then takes a sip of his beer and then sits back reflecting.

"I doubt she is even in Midgar anymore," the young Turk says looking agitated at the crowd around him. "If I just escaped with my child after being held captive I would get as far away from this city as I could."

"So would I," replies Veld, "but that doesn't mean she did. Dr. Hojo advised me that the woman was weak and sick. She probably couldn't make if far even if she wanted to."

Tseng sat back in his chair realizing that he was going to have a long night ahead of him. He hadn't been working with Veld for that long but he knew his superior well enough to know that they were not going anywhere until he had some answers as to where the woman was hiding. Tseng then turned his attention to a young boy with fiery red hear who just walked into the bar. He shook his head at the thought of young kids running around drinking with no parents to look after them or care enough to look after them. Tseng thought his hometown Wutai was lenient with allowing young people to drink but this was crazy. He never seen anything like this on the upper Midgar plate. He watches the young boy sits at the bar, order a drink and Tseng turns his attention back to his boss.

"So one more and then back to work," Veld says laying his empty bottle down, "I think it's your turn to buy."

"Yeah." Tseng replys reaching for his wallet. He really didn't even want another drink and just wanted to get out of this dump but he knew better than to piss of his boss who seemed to be enjoying himself. Tseng considered calling out for a refill but didn't want to wait the hour for the slow service so he decides to go to the bar to order their last drink from the bartender. When Tseng got up he notices the red haired boy take his beer and start walking away from the bar towards a table. As they cross paths in the crowded bar the red haired boy, not looking where he was going, hit his left shoulder against Tseng's arm causing the boy to drop drink on the floor, breaking and spilling everywhere.

"Hey watch where you're going" Reno told the young Turk as he stepped back to avoid getting his shoes wet. "Now you know you have to buy me another drink," the young boy tells Tseng.

"You're too young to drink kid," the young Turk responds, "why don't you get out of here and go home." Tseng continued walking towards the bar forgetting about the boy. With that the redhead leaves the bar without saying another word.

When Reno exited the bar he quickly glanced over his shoulder to make sure no one was following him. He then slips a small pair of scissors back into his pocket along with the keycard he lifted from the Turk. One good thing about growing up in the slums he knew to always keep certain items on him at all times including a sharp pair of scissors, a knife, a lock-pick kit, and his lighting materia. It was having these items that made him a master of his trade and could get him into or out of any situation.

Reno walked over to Kenny and Rude still standing in the alley and walks past them. "So did you get it?" Kenny asks him as the two follow the young redhead.

"Do you have my money?" Reno asked stooping to look at Kenny figuring they were a safe distance away from the bar.

"Like I said my boss only gave me 1000 gil," Kenny replied as he reaches into his pocket pulling out the cash, "the other 1000 we are going to have to go get from my boss."

"Well than, let's go." Reno takes the money and hands him the keycard.

"I don't know how my boss will feel about taking you two to our hideout," Kenny said putting the keycard in his pocket, "but he'll probably be happy to know who helped him secure the last item he is seeking." With that the three boys started to make their way to the mayhem hideout.

"So where do you suppose we look next?" Tseng asked as the two finish up their drink.

"Well if we go in order than the next sector will be sector 7." Veld said laying down his empty bottle.

Veld and Tseng stand up to leave the bar when Tseng puts his hand on the clip attached to his belt. He notices that the tether that was attached to his keycard has been cut. Tseng looks around the bar to see if maybe his keycard was ripped off and was on the floor but deep down he knew that someone had to of taken it.

"Someone has stolen my keycard." Tseng said to Veld trying to remember who he has spoken to at the bar. He remembered having his keycard when they arrive in sector 6 so it must have been taken while they were in the bar. He then remembers his run-in with the redhead boy. "It must have been the boy I bumped into getting our last drink," Tseng says feeling in his pocket for his wallet which he still had. "Why would a poor kid from the slums take his keycard and not his wallet full of gil?" Tseng questions Veld perplexed.

"Someone must have told the kid to take the keycard," the senior Turk explains to the rookie. "You need to pay more attention in the future. Now we need to put our current mission on hold and look for this kid."

Sector 2 was like any other sector in the slums, homes and businesses made out of scrap metal and full of hardened looking people. But this sector looked particularly run-down with some homes looking like they were made with cardboard and a lot more garbage lying around. Kenny took them to a metal shack with a red painted door. He knocks on the door three times and kicks it twice causing a slot at the top of the door to open. A pair of eyes peer out at them and asks "who is it?"

"It's Kenny," the older boy says, "and I have two boys the boss wants to see." The eyes then looked over at Reno and Rude staring at them. Then the slot closes and the door opens.

An older boy with dark brown hair and brown eyes looks at them. "Get in," he says stepping to the side to let the boys in. Reno and Rude follow Kenny into a dimly lit narrow hallway. As the door behind them closes the boy behind them presses a switch on the wall that unlocks another door at the end of the hallway. Kenny walks up to the door and opens it into the clubhouse. "The boss is in the hideout," the other boy tells Kenny as they walk into the clubhouse and shut the door behind them.

The clubhouse had everything a gang would need in a hideout. There was a bar in the middle of the room with a wall behind it full of liquor. There were tables and chairs with televisions hanging on the wall. It looked like it was partied in many of times with bits of glass on the floor like someone did a half-ass job cleaning up a mess. The boys could see the gang's logo, names and various tags spray-paint on the wall along with crude drawings. There was only three people in the room besides Kenny and the two young boys. One guy was standing at the bar making a drink and there was a guy and a girl sitting in the back of the room making out. They appeared to be oblivious as to anyone else in the room.

Kenny then walks towards a door in the back of the room and the boys follow. He opens the door leading to a stairway and at the bottom was another door. This door opened to a much larger room with cement walls. There were huge metal bins that looked like shipping containers filling the room and they could hear a crowed coming from inside. As the three boys walk between the metal containers Reno could see a large opening up ahead and could hear the sound of the crowed growing. As they walk closer to the opening Reno could see the group of 25 to 30 people standing around another metal container with a small group of 5 people standing on it. Reno's eyes trail the small group of people standing on the top of the container and he pauses focusing on one person in particular. Reno's heart begins to race, even though he was only 7 he would never forgot that man. The man with the dirty blond hair and tanned skin had aged a bit in the last 4 years but those dark eyes looked exactly the same as he remembered. A fiery ball of rage began to build in his stomach but he knew there was nothing he could do in a crowed this big without getting himself and Rude killed. Reno pulled his sweater hood over his head and put his head down. He knew that the man might recognise the marks on his face so he couldn't get too close.

Rude notices that Reno stopped and looks behind him to see what is wrong. "What's up?" Rude asks as he glimpsed over his shoulder to look at Kenny who was still walking towards the group. Rude could see that Reno was trying to hide his face and knew something was going on. Reno slowly walks towards Rude walking right past him causing Rude to follow.

"It's him," Reno whispered to his friend as they slowly walk towards the group. Rude didn't need any more explanation then that. He knew he was going to have to do the talking this time.

"Who are those two?" A girl standing by the dark eyed man yells at Kenny causing the whole crowed to stop and look behind.

"These are the two who took a keycard from a Turk," Kenny replies proudly holding up the keycard.

The dark eyed man narrows his focus in on Kenny. "What are they doing here Kenny?" The dark eye man asks the boy.

"Well, such as dangerous mission I kind of told them we would give them an extra 1000 gil if they could secure us the keycard," Kenny says nervously, "you have to admit it takes a lot of guts messing with a Turk."

The dark eyed man frowns at Kenny and pauses thinking. He then turns around to a treasure chest behind him and pulled out a bag of gil throwing it down to someone standing in the crowed. "Give this to the kids," the man says to one of his crew. "I know your young Kenny but for future reference," the dark eyed man says turning his attention back to Kenny, "next time you want to promise someone more money you better run it by me first or you will be paying."

"Understood boss," Kenny says nodding his head vigorously in agreement.

As one of the gang members hands the gil to Rude the dark eyed man stared at the young boys from on top the container. "How would you boys like to be part of our organization?" he asks smiling, "We could use more people with your skills."

"Thanks for the offer," Rude says speaking for the two of them, "but we feel that we can better serve you by not associating with your gang." Reno glances at Reno who still had his head down covered by his hood.

"Gang?" the man says insulted, "you see boy we are far more powerful than any slum gang and now that we have this keycard we are going to own the slums like Shinra owns Midgar." As the man finishes speaking that the crowd roars with excitement but falls silent when the man raises his hand. "But please explain to me how you can better serve us by not joining our organization?" He asks inquisitively.

"Well you see sir," Rude explains choosing his words wisely, "we do a lot of running for Kenny and for your 'organization' and we find that it is much easier and safer transporting packages around other territories if we are not believed to be associated with any particular group."

The man pauses staring at the two boys contemplating about what Rude just told him. After a few very long seconds the man smiles at Rude, "I like the way you think kid," he says as a wave of relief flows over the two boys. "We'll be sure to request your services again in the future," he says looking at Kenny who nods. "Now Kenny, will you please escort these two boys out of here?" He asks Kenny who nods yes and turns to walk towards the door with the two boys.

"Thanks guys," Kenny says as the two boys walk outside the clubhouse door, "I was a little nervous for a second there but it all work out, eh?"

"What's your boss' name?" Reno asks eager to finally put a name to a face.

"Well, he insists we call him boss," Kenny replies looking behind him to make sure no one was around, "but I heard someone call him Baker before. I don't know if that is his name but it's the only information I have." Kenny closes the door on the two boys as they turn to head back home.

As Reno and Rude walk through Sector 3 Rude couldn't help but noticed the look on Reno's face. "So what should we do?" Rude asks his friend. Reno new exactly what he were referring to and it was the only thing he could think of since he left mayhem's hideout.

"I have to kill him," Reno replies looking down it deep thought.

"I know that, but how?" Rude had not seen his good friend this upset since 4 years ago.

"We have to find a way to get him alone and we can't let him fulfill his plan to take over the slums." Reno seemed to have a bit more fire in him now. "I wish I hadn't of lifted that keycard," he said more angry at himself than at the situation.

"How were you to know the head of mayhem was the man who killed your mother?" Rude says trying to comfort his friend.

"Listen we need to head back home, we will give your parents half the money and use the other half to stock-up on supplies," Reno says his mind racing with ideas on how to get this guy. He looks at Rude, "I can understand if you don't want to do this with me…" he couldn't ask his friend to risk his life for his vendetta.

"Reno you know I am with you all the way," Rude stops his friend before he could finish, "you are my brother and I won't have you do this alone."

Reno nods at his friend appreciatively, "we better get going," he says walking towards home, "we don't know how long until they use that keycard and we still need to figure out what they are going to do with it."

When they reach their home in Sector 4 it was past midnight so everyone was sleeping. "Mom's going to kill me for coming home so late and not staying but we have to do this." Rude says writing a note so at least his mother would know he was home. He put the gil next to the note. He wrote on the note that they were fine and would be back soon. While Rude was writing the note Reno grabbed some supplies he knew Rude was going to need something to protect himself like a knife. He knew Rude likes to use his hands in a fight but for this mission he was going to need more than fists.

"Now we need to go to sector 7 and get some materia and anything else that might help us, then we'll go stakeout mayhem's cludhouse." Reno tells his friend as they exit the house. "We'll wait until they leave their hideout and look for a perfect time to make our move."

As the two boys walk through sector 5 and on their way to sector 7 when Rude has a thought, "we better be careful in sector 6," he says to his friend, "there could still be Turks in the slums and they might be looking for you."

"We should stick to the back alleys and rooftops than just in case." Reno replies agreeing with his friend's recommendation.

The two boys carefully made their way through sector 6 making sure not to be seen then continue on to Sector 7. Sector 6 would have the items they were looking for however they figured it would be best not to stick around in that sector after Reno's run-in with the Turks.

Reno already owned a titan bangle filled with a maxed lighting materia. Since they only had 1000 gil they picked up an iron bangle for Rude and a fire materia. They also purchased two potions for Rude and a grenade for Reno. After they secure their items they make their way back to mayhem's clubhouse making sure to avoid the high traffic areas.

The two boys find a secure spot on top of a roof near the clubhouse so they could get a view of the surrounding area. Knowing that the clubhouse goes deep underground they figured it most likely has more than one exit and possibly extends under another building. They wait for a few hours without any sign of movement. Then they noticed four people walking out of a structure near the hideout and Rude recognized them as the 4 people who were standing next to the dark eyed man in the clubhouse. The four gang members start walking towards the Sector 2 train station.

The boys figured if they followed them long enough they will get some information regarding their boss's plans. They climb down and follow behind the three men and one woman. When the four arrive at the train station they stop at the platform waiting for the train. There was no one around besides the four gang members and the boys who hid behind a pile of rubble out of sight.

"This is my first time going to the upper plate," the youngest looking of the four told his comrades, "I'm not sure where I have to go."

"That's why I am going along to show you your target," the darkest haired man of four replies. He was full of tattoos and was probably a senior member of the group.

"I forgot which warehouse I'm assigned to…" The other man asks the group.

"You're assigned to the sector 3 warehouse," the green haired woman replies to the man sounding annoyed with the question, "I'm sector 1 and Tommy and Snake are Sector 5. You better not fuck this up or the boss will kills us," she says glaring at the man.

"I still don't see how he expects to hit all three warehouses at once with one keycard…" the nameless man continues.

"Shut up!" The woman yells hitting the man on the head, "what the fuck are you doing talking about this out here?" She lowers her voice glaring at him, "If you were listing you know he doesn't need the keycard to get into the warehouses. Now don't say another word!"

Knowing they couldn't get on the train without being seen the boys returned to their stakeout near the clubhouse. "So what do you suppose they are planning?" Rude asks his friend.

"Well it sounds like he is going to use the keycard to steal something from a warehouse up top," Reno says not taking his eyes off the clubhouse and the door the four exited from earlier, "it's probably a Shinra warehouse."

"Hey Rude?" Reno asks wondering why his friend didn't respond. He takes his eyes off the clubhouse to look back and see what his friend is doing only to see Rude being held by a man in a suit with short black hair and scars on his face. He had Rude's mouth covered and a gun to his head. Standing next to the man was the Turk he lifted the keycard from.

"How did you find us up here?" Reno had to ask. Out of all the rooftops in all the sectors how did they know to check this one?

"We've been watching you since one of our informants spotted you in the sector 7 store," Tseng replies, "why are you stocking the people you gave my keycard to?"

"I'll tell you if you let my friend go," Reno replies sounding concerned about his friend, "he has nothing to do with me taking your keycard."

"How about you tell us or we'll shoot your friend," Veld says sounding annoyed with this whole situation.

Reno looked at Rude and then as Tseng, "a member of this gang offered me a lot of gil to lift your keycard but the leader of the gang is someone I have to kill and I didn't know this until it was too late and he already had the keycard…" Reno hated himself for being a rat but he couldn't jeopardize Rude's safety.

Tseng looked at Veld who lowered the gun away from Rude's head holding the gun in his hand as a precaution.

"What now?" The young Turk asks his mentor who was still holding Rude by his shirt.

"We're going to take them back to headquarters," Veld replies turning and walking away with Rude still in his grasp.

Tseng looks at Reno, "lets go," he says to the redhead grabbing him by the arm.

Reno and Rude have never been to the upper plate before. They've never had a reason to go up there but heard a lot of stories from the many people who moved to Midgar hoping to make it big or join Shinra. Many of them end up failing their dream and wind up in the slums. If you can't make it on top than you have no choice but to move to the lower place. Shinra keeps a tight leash on the upper plate so if you are homeless the Shinra police will arrest you forcing you to leave.

The upper plate was a lot like Reno had imagined. The streets were full of cars that weren't broken or rundown, there were real buildings built high like skyscrapers, there were billboards and advertisements for plays and products for people to spend gil on. It was dawn and Reno could see the sun staring to peek out over the dark city.

When the four reached the Shinra building Reno and Rude couldn't believe the size of the power company building towering over the city. They walk through the front doors and to the back of the lobby were the elevators are located. Once inside the elevators Tseng presses the button for the 15th floor. They walk down a hallway and stop at a door with a keycard lock. Veld takes his keycard and opens the door. Inside was a room with three office desks in the corners of the room. In between two of the desks was a door leading to another office.

"I'll go advise the president of the situation and get you a new keycard," Veld advises the young Turk, "you stay here with them," he continues motioning to the young boys. With that he left the room leaving the three inside.

"Have a seat," Tseng says pulling two chairs up in front of a well-organized desk. The two boys sit down in the chairs while Tseng sits in his chair on the other side of the desk. "So, what do you know about this gang?" He asks the two boys.

"Not much," Reno replies, "we've done the odd job for our friend who is a member but today was our first time seeing their clubhouse and their boss."

"Why do you want to kill their boss?" Tseng inquires looking at Reno.

Reno frowns falling silent for a few seconds deciding if he should tell the young Turk. "He killed my mother," Reno whispers. Reno didn't like to talk to people about what happened to him but for some reason he didn't mind telling this guy. He didn't really know why, maybe he was feeling bad for taking the guys keycard and giving it to the dark eyed man.

"Sorry to hear that," Tseng says not sure what else to say. He kind of felt bad for the kid even though he took his keycard and made him look like a fool in front of his boss. Either way he couldn't let his pity for the kid get in the way, he had a job to do. "Do you know his name?" Tsang asks the boys.

"We were told his name might be Baker," Rude replies giving Reno a break from answering questions, "but even his own gang members don't know what his real name is. They are told to call him boss."

Tseng smiles at the gang leader's ego and cockiness thinking he could mess with Shinra. "Well kid," Tseng says looking at Reno, "I can't help you kill this guy but I can assure you, if he messes with Shinra he's as good as dead."

Reno frowned, "not if I get to him first," the redhead tells the young Turk.

"Listen kid," Tseng says in a stern voice, "stealing from a Turk can get you killed or put in prison for a long time but given your situation I'm going to be nice and lock you up until I clean up this mess you helped get us in." Tseng stands up from his desk and motions to the boys to stand up as well. He takes them out of the room and down the hall to another room with no door. Inside the room is a Shina guard sitting on a chair sleeping next to a set of keys hanging on a hook on the wall. Reno and Rude look to their right of the room to see a row of cells with metal bars.

Tseng clears his throat causing the guard to startle awake. He stands up quickly putting his hand to his head, "Yes, sir?" he asks.

"Put these two kids in a cell until I return," Tseng says to the guard pushing to two kids towards forward.

"Yes sir!" the guard replies taking the two kids and grabs the keys from the hook. He opens up the furthest cell from the entrance and puts the two boys inside. "Anything else sir?" the guard asks Tseng as he puts the keys back on the hook.

"Actually yes," Tseng replies looking at the guard sternly, "these two boys are not prisoners so don't treat them as such. This is for their own protection and if you could do me an extra favour?" Tseng asks the guard and without waiting for a reply he takes out some gill and hands it to him. "Could you run down to the cafeteria and get our guests something to eat? I know you go there anyways on your break."

"…yes sir..." the guard replies taking the money from Tseng giving him a strange look. He put the money in his pocket and sits back down on his chair.

Tseng quickly looks back at the two boys in the cell and leaves the room to go find Veld. Reno was sure that he saw Tseng smile a little before he left.

As Tseng leaves the room he see Veld walking down the hallway ahead of him. "So how upset was the president?" Tseng asks Veld as soon as he reaches his superior.

"He appeared to be more concerned with the idea of a gang trying to take over the slums than the missing keycard," Veld replies as the two walk back towards their office. "He pays Don Corneo mounds of cash to keep the slums under Shinra's control and he doesn't appear to be doing his job."

"Well this guy must be after the armories," Tseng commented walking into their office, "couldn't we just change the code to access panels so the keycard won't work?"

"Remember what that minion said down in Sector 2," Veld says walking towards his office in the back, "they only have one keycard and they plan to hit all three armories." He sits down and checks his computer, "I don't think they need the keycard to get into the buildings."

"What else could they keycard be used for?" Tseng asks walking up to his mentor's desk.

"Here," Veld said pointing to his computer, "there's a secure storage safe here in the sector 5 warehouse. It's level A clearance and on a secure network meaning the code cannot be changed on our system. It has to be done manually."

"That's why they needed my keycard," Tseng says finally realizing their plan, "only senior executives and Turks have level A clearance."

"We need to get a unit to each of these locations while we head to the Sector 5 location," Veld says while grabbing a extra gun from his desk and turning off his computer screen, "and tell someone to call in all available Turks. I want one at each location just in case." The two men leave the office and head toward the elevator.

As they walked Tseng sent a message to the other Turks on his PHS. "What's in the storage safe that's so important anyway?" Tseng asks as the elevator door shuts.

"Apart from some very powerful weaponry the sector 5 location has highly volatile mako bombs that the weapons development department created two years ago. Even the smallest bomb can destroy a whole city and the aftereffects can be devastating for years. Due to their destructive power President Shinra couldn't hide them at the headquarters but his hunger for power stopped him from dismantling them when he learned of their capability. It appears that there is a failsafe that can be activated in a control room at the warehouse but it will flood the room rendering the bombs useless but will drown whoever is in the room. President Shinra wants this as our last option given the value of the bombs." As soon as Veld was finished explaining the elevator door opened and the two exited.

The guard sat in his chair confused. Tseng was a young rookie but even he should know that guards don't get breaks when prisoners are in the cells. But then again, Tseng did say that the prisoners were not regular prisoners and were just in the cell for their own protection... Or maybe Tseng just forgot about the breaks. The guard wondered if he should just go on his break like he normally would or follow protocol. He looked over at the kids who appeared to be sleeping on the bench in the cell. 'What harm could the kids do in a cell if he left for 15 minutes anyways?' he asks himself. Plus the Turk did tell him to go get them some food the guard thought to himself. He then got up and left the room to go to the cafeteria.

Reno looked over at the empty seat from the corner of his eye. "Rude, it's time to go," he told his friend shaking him to see if he was sleeping.

"How do you suppose we get out of this cell?" he asks his redheaded companion.

Reno smiled, "they didn't check our pockets before putting us in here," he replies reaching for his lock pick set. He pulls out the set and grabs two picks walking over to the cell door.

"Always prepared, eh Reno?" Rude asks with a big smile.

"Well you never know when you're going to be thrown in a jail cell," he tells his friend while he picks the lock. After a few seconds they both hear a click sound and the cell door opens. "Common, let's go" he says to Rude putting the picks back in his pocket. They both walk out of the room and down the hall.

"So where do we go now?" Rude asks following Reno down the hall.

"Well, we have to get out of this building and then we have to go find out which warehouse this Baker guy is targeting so I can kill him," Reno says pressing the button to the elevator. As the elevator door opens Reno and Rude step in only to see a young boy with blond hair wearing all white standing in the elevator. The boy had to be around their age, maybe a year or two difference at most. Reno and Rude look at themselves nervously and step into the elevator. They were both thinking the same thing hoping this kid was not going to rat them out.

There was a few seconds of awkward silence and the unknown boy started to speak, "who are you two and why were you on the Turks' floor?" the boy asks with a raised eyebrow. The look on his face told them that he knew they were not supposed to be there.

"Amm well we are guests and we were told to go get some food in the cafeteria," Reno says anxiously scratching his head.

"You are going the wrong way then," the boy says, his smile growing. He goes to press the up button on the elevator control panel for the cafeteria, "let me show you..."

Remembering that the guard is in the cafeteria getting them some food, "no wait!" Rude says putting his hand out to stop the boy. He looks at Reno, "we should just tell him the truth Reno. He might help us," he says to his friend.

"Listen," Reno says closing his eyes in frustration, "we are after the same guy the Turks are after so they brought us here to keep us out of the way but I need to get to the guy first."

"Why?" the blond haired boy asks.

"I have to kill him," Reno replies with a serious look on his face.

The blond boy pauses for a second. "What do you need help with?" he asks the two boys.

"Well, there are three warehouses he could be going to but we have no way of knowing which one." Rude replies.

"I think I might be able to help you if you do something for me," the clean cut boy says as he motions to press a button but pauses to wait for a reply.

"Sure, what?" Rude asks.

"You see," the boy says pressing the button for the 12th floor, "my dad is sending me away tomorrow and I've been stuck in this building for the past few months' board off my ass. I want to get out of this place for at least a day and have some fun so I want to come with you"

"What's your name?" Reno asks as the elevator door opens to the 12th floor. He thought this kid was crazy actually wanting to go help them kill a guy but he wasn't going to question someone who is trying to help.

"Rufus," the blond boy replies, "What's yours?"

"I'm Rude and this is Reno," Rude said stepping off the elevator.

"What are we doing here?" Reno asks looking around at the long hallway.

"There is a computer here I can use to get into the system and see if one of the Turks looked up any information involving you warehouses" Rufus walks down the hallway to the forth door on his left and swipes his keycard. Inside was a computer on a desk and a big screen TV hooked up to a gaming console with a leather reclining chair in front of it. There was also a big gun safe in one corner of the room and a punching bag in the other. Rufus walks over to the computer, sits in the chair and types in a password. "Who were the two Turks you were with?" Rufus asks the two boys.

"One was an older guy with short dark hair and scars on his face," Reno replied standing behind Rufus looking over his shoulder, "the other was a younger guy, probably a teenager or in his early twenties, with dark hair and a mark on his head."

"You're talking about Veld and the new guy," Rufus said thinking, "I think his name is Sing or something." He starts typing on the computer. "Well it says the last think Veld looked up was information relating to a Shinra warehouse in Sector 5. It lists the address." Rufus quickly memorizes the plans for the warehouse.

"That must be it," Reno said excited knowing which sector was the main target, "Let's go."

"Wait a minute," Rufus says walking over to the gun safe punching some numbers on the keypad. The safe opens and he takes out a shotgun and two handguns. He throws a handgun to Reno and Rude along with an extra clip each. He swings the shotgun on his shoulder and walks over to his computer pressing two buttons causing a secret door to swing open in the back of the room. "Now we can go," Rufus continues leading the way out of the room.

Reno and Rude look at each other with amazement as if to say 'this kid is kickass!' and quietly follow the young blond down the secret egress.

The sector 5 armory looked like a prison from the outside with two sets of chain linked fence covered in barbed wire on the top. There are enough security cameras to cover every inch of the grounds and an armed patrol vehicle patrols the outside 24/7. There are two towers located at the two back corners of the warehouse armed with a guard on each tower. Two more guards are stationed at the gate and another guard mans the security camera room.

"Tom, Paul and Terry are late for the 8am shift change," one of the guards at the gate says to his partner. The guards at the gate and the patrol vehicle are all on 8 hour shifts while the towers and the control booth guard are on 12 hour shifts so their changeover is at noon. As soon as the guard finished speaking three guards walked up to the gate. The guard who spoke recognised Paul who was ahead of the group. The two guards walking behind Paul had they heads down so their faces couldn't be seen.

"Hey Paul," the other guard said to his colleague happy to know he was about to go home after a long nights work. He signals to the camera to open the first gate. When the gate opens Paul walks up to the second gate so the guards are face to face. "Wow, Tom and Paul are really slow this morning, were you guys partying again last night?" He asks Paul.

As the two guards with their heads down walk through the first gate it closes and the second gate begins to open. When the two others walk up behind Paul the other guard notices that Terry and Tom have their eyes covered by their hats. "What's with them?" He asks Paul.

"They were partying too hard last night," Paul says motioning for the two guards to go to the control room so they can complete the shift change, "they have such a bad hang-over the light bothers their eyes," Paul explains as they walk towards the control room located next the warehouse.

As the last gate shuts Tom and Terry stand were the guards while Paul and the other two guards go in the control room to count the ammo in their rifles in order to sign off on shift change. Once they step inside the control room Paul takes out a hand gun and shoots the guard manning the cameras in the back and then quickly turns to shoot the guards behind him. They didn't have time to raise their rifles before it was too late.

Paul motions to the two guards at the gate, who were gang members in disguise, signalling that there was no one manning the cameras. The warehouse is tall enough so that the men arming the towers can't see the guards in the front of the warehouse. The two men known as Tom and Terry split up and sneak around each side of the warehouse and up the tower to take out the guard in each tower. Once all the guards on the outside of the warehouse, minus the one is in patrol vehicle, were taken out they opened up the gates.

The patrol vehicle turns the corner to the side of the perimeter when he suddenly stops for a young kid, the one from the sector 2 train station, standing in the middle of the road. The guard in the vehicle leans out to yell at the kid to move and come face to face with the tattooed gang member holding a gun to the guards head. The gang member shoots the guard and opens the door pushing the body over. He gets in the driver's seat and drives the vehicle towards the open gate.

Veld, Tseng and five Shinra guards arrive at the ally across from the Sector 5 armory as soon as the gates fully open. Other than the gates opening they don't see anything out of the ordinary. Veld notices that there were no guards manning the gate and looks at his watch, "its 8:15, the shift change should be over by now…" Veld notes keeping an eye out for the patrol vehicle.

"Here they come," Tseng says motioning for his boss to look down the sheet. Turning the corner they see a bus covered in scrap metal followed by a large 18-wheeler truck.

Just as they notice the vehicles Veld hears his PHS ring. He answers it and listens to someone on the pone then says, "Radio over to headquarters and have them send reinforces." He hangs up the phone and looks at Tseng, "Cissnei says they're targeting the other two locations as well," he explains putting his phone back in his pocket.

"What's the plan?" Tseng asks his superior.

"We have to fight our way in and stop them from reaching the storage safe," Veld explains to Tseng and the guards. He looks over to the warehouse to see the vehicles drive through the opening and towards the warehouse bay door which was being opened manually by two men. Tseng takes out his gun and nods to his superior. "Let's go," Veld says to the guards and they all run towards the warehouse.

The three young boys reach the same alleyway that Veld and Tseng were standing earlier. They look over to the armory to see an old bus refurbished with scrap metal parked in front of the opened gates. They could see the top of the armory and noticed that the door to the warehouse was open. As far as they could tell there was no one outside of the building and they could hear gunshots echoing inside.

"Let's go," Rufus says holding the forestock of his shotgun cocking the loaded gun with one hand.

The three take off towards the warehouse. They run up to the bus and peek their heads out to scope out the situation. The 18-wheeler was backed into the warehouse no one was outside but the sound of the gunfire inside was intensifying. They run over to the big rig for cover and to get a better look at what was going on. They could see Shinra guards and gang members shooting at each other from behind various objects such as empty oil drums, forklifts and metal shelving units.

"We should find another way in," Rufus says looking at the gunfire inside, "I think I remember seeing a back door in the plans, let's hope it is unlocked." He runs away from the truck and around the side of the warehouse. Reno and Rude follow the blond towards the back of the building and stop when they reach the door.

Reno turns the handle and the door clicks open, "be careful…" he tells Rude and his newfound friend. He slowly opens the door peeking inside. He sees a big room separated from the commotion in the main part of the warehouse. Inside the room are racks of guns and smaller weapons like grenades with a closed door in the middle. Two men had their backs to the boys and were busy loading the weapons into large duffel bags. Rufus looks at Rude signalling him to get out his gun. He never really liked guns but knew better than trying to bring fists to a gunfight. Reno holds the door open while Rufus barges in with his shotgun held up aiming at one of the men, Rude follows suit aiming at the other man.

"Hands up!" Rufus says as the men turn around to see the young boys. One of the men probably thought the youths weren't going to shoot because he reaches for the gun at his waist prompting Rufus to shoot him in the head. The man's head explodes leaving a mess on the wall and guns behind him.

"The head?" Reno asks looking at the mess and then at Rufus. Reno grew up in the slums and although he is no stranger to a gun he has never had to actually shoot anyone before. He prefers his lighting materia, electricity is his strongest element.

"He was wearing a vest," Rufus says shrugging it off. He was obviously no stranger to this kind of thing.

Rude looks at the man standing at the end of his barrel looking terrified, "get on your knees," he tells the man. The man obeys getting down on his knees. Rufus walks up the man slowly, aiming at his head. He stands behind the man and hits him over the head with the butt of the gun knocking him out cold.

Tseng and Veld managed to make their way through the gunfire to the top tier of the warehouse where the control room and safe room were located.

"I haven't see Baker yet," Veld says looking around.

"He could already be in the safe room," Tseng says to his mentor, "where is it?"

"To the right," Veld replies, "You go to the safe room while I try to lock this place down in the control room over there." Veld was the only one of the two who knew how to activate the security system and the failsafe. No matter what he couldn't let Baker leave with the bombs, they were too dangerous.

Tseng runs left down the walkway to the room at the end. He runs in with his gun drawn and sees Baker standing next to a big piece of bulletproof glass with a big metal safe behind it. The keycard lock was attached to the metal safe door. On the bulletproof glass was a keypad and Baker was attaching what looked like explosives to the bullet proof glass. His goal is to blast through the glass in order to use the keycard on the explosive proof safe. His back was to Tseng so he didn't notice the Turk in the doorway.

"Stop what you're doing," Tseng says walking into the room aiming the gun at Baker's head. Baker slowly raises his hands up and turns around. Tseng hears something behind him and sees someone in the corner of his eye. He quickly turns around but it was too late. Another gang member shoots at Tseng who was quick enough to move out of the way but the bullet hits his forearm causing him to drop his gun. Tseng quickly uses his fire materia causing a ball of fire to quickly engulf the man. This allows Tseng enough time to grab his gun and shoot the man dead.

"Stop!" Baker yells at Tseng from behind him. Tseng turns around to see Baker aiming a gun at Tseng. "Drop you gun, your materia and any other weapons you may have," he orders the young Turk who complies.

Inside the gun room Reno cracks open the door to the main portion of warehouse. He looks outside to see the guards and gang members still fighting. To his left he sees a staircase leading to a floor above. "I don't see Baker anywhere," he says looking around, "he must be upstairs." Reno looks back to see Rude behind him and Rufus busy admiring the wall of weaponry. Rufus grabs a rifle with a strap off the shelf and throws it over his shoulder. He then starts filling his pockets with smoke bombs and grenades. Reno shakes his head and motions to Rude to follow him. He sneaks out of the room slowly making his way to the staircase with Rude following him.

A gang member must have been guarding the door because he steps out from behind a big oil tank with his gun raised aimed at Rude. Reno notices him and dives for Rude trying to get him out of the way. Without saying a word the man shoots missing Rude and hitting Reno in the shoulder. Both he and Rude fall to the ground with Reno landing on Rude. Reno grabs his shoulder in pain. Rufus barges out of the room with his shotgun held shooting the man in the chest twice causing him to fall back. Four more gang members see Rufus shoot one of their own and they gun over with their gun drawn.

"Reno you go get Baker while Rude and I guard the stairs," Rufus says pushing Reno off Rude before the gang members come within firing range, "according to the plans the room Baker wants is to your right," he notifies his friend. Reno runs up the stairs as the gang members open fire at him but he stays low so the bullets hit the railing. Rude and Rufus open fire on the gang members sticking close to the oil tank.

"I need to go with Reno," Rude says to Rufus while he shoots at the enemy, "I have the healing potions and cure materia and Reno's been shot."

"We need to kill these guys before you can go help Reno," Rufus informs his friend dropping his empty shotgun and pulling a grenade out of his pocket. He pulls the pin of the grenade throwing it at the gang members who dive out of the way. He then takes the rifle hanging on his shoulder opening fire.

Reno runs right down the walkway holding his shoulder. He see the door at the end of the walkway and he could hear voices coming from the room. He then hears a gunshot and a man yell stop. Reno peeked into the room to see Baker aiming a gun at Tseng who had his hands up in the air. He went to reach for his gun to shoot Baker but realizes that Tseng was in his way plus his arm was too injured to take a steady shot. He takes out his lighting materia and focuses on Baker causing a massive bolt of lightning to strike the dark eyed man. Baker screams in pain falling to his knees.

Tseng looked back to see Reno who throws his gun to Tseng. Baker slowly tries to stand up but Tseng shoots him in the leg causing him to fall back on the ground grabbing his leg in pain. Baker's gun falls out of his hand next to him. "This one is yours kid," Tseng says handing the gun back to Reno.

Reno grabs the gun from Tseng with his good hand. He walks over to Baker lying on the floor and kicks his gun across the room. He looks the dark eyed man in the eyes. "Remember me?" Reno asks the man. The man peers into Reno's eyes and notices the scars on his face. His eyes widen realizing who the kid is. "This is for my mother…" Reno says before shooting the man in the forehead watching the life fade from his eyes. He reaches into the dead man's coat pocket and pulls out the keycard. Reno walks back over to Tseng holding his shoulder and hands him the keycard. "Sorry about this," Reno says as Tseng takes the card from the redhead.

"It happens," Tseng tells the young boy relieved that this event is almost over. "I need to find Veld," Tseng says grabbing his belongings on the floor. The two walk out of the room and down the walkway.

Veld meets them at the staircase, "I saw everything from the screen in the control room," he tells the young Turk, "I would have assisted but I needed to be ready to pull the failsafe should you fail. From what I can tell it looks like the gang members are losing the battle downstairs"

"My friends are down there," Reno says remembering Rude and Rufus. He runs down the stairs with his gun out, the two Turks follow.

The three reach the bottom of the stairs to see the two boys standing behind the oil tanker. Rude was hitting the enemy with the fire materia and Rufus shooting at the gang members with the rifle. The materia Rude had was new so it did little damage other than stun the enemy allowing Rufus enough time to get a few shots in.

"Rufus?" Veld asks surprised to see the president's son. Before he could say another word to the heir of the Shinra company a gang member spots them and opens fire. The three run towards the oil tanker with Veld and Tseng returning fire. Veld critically hits a gang member causing him to fall to the ground leaving one remaining. Rude hands him a potion but Veld stops him from using it, "if he's been shot you have to remove the bullet before you can heal him." He turns his attention back to the blond.

Tseng peers out from behind the tanker and shoots. Tseng looks at the blond boy, "what are you doing here Rufus?" he asks the boy crossly.

"They needed my help," Rufus says with a bit of a gin. He couldn't help but laugh when his dad's employees try to get stern with him.

Veld rolls his eyes, "you know your dad is going to hear about this…" Veld says opening fire with his gun while Tseng reloads. Veld hits the gang member allowing them to come out from behind the tankers.

"You three stay here while we go see if there are any gang members remaining," Tseng orders the three boys. Veld and Tseng run towards the front of the warehouse to see who is remaining. Hey could hear some gunshots in the background but it was minimal.

"Did you get him?" Rude asked his red-haired friend who nodded yes. Rude smiled relieved.

A little while later Tseng and Veld returned with their weapons down. Veld was on his PHS talking to the other Turks to see how they managed. When Veld put his phone away Tseng looked at him, "they're ok," Veld says to the young Turks, "apparently the other two armories weren't hit as hard as here. This was their main target." The two Turks and the three boys look at the destruction around them. The few structures that were still standing inside the warehouse were covered in bullet holes. There were bodies of gang members and some Shinra guards on the ground. Some Shinra guards were still alive and were collecting bodies.

"Let's get back to headquarters and get you some medical attention," Tseng says to the Reno. The three boys and two Turks leave the warehouse.

When they reach Shinra headquarters Tseng takes Reno and Rude to the Infirmary while Veld brings Rufus to see his father for a 'stern' talking to.

After the doctor finishes fixing up Reno he leaves the room and Rude and Tseng come in to check on him. "Thanks for taking a bullet for me…" Rude tells his friend.

"Well, I did get you into this mess," Reno says with a smile, "plus I would take a bullet over you mother any day knowing what you are in for when we get home." They both laugh. "I have to ask," Reno says looking at Tseng, "did you know we were going to find a way out of the cells?" he asks.

Tseng pauses for a moment and smiles, "call it a test." He normally didn't smile this must but there was something about these boys from the slums he liked. They were brave, skilled, loyal, and resourceful. He could tell they were starting to grow on him. "You know," he said looking at the two boys, "you two would make good Turks. If you're interested I can help you get into the academy once you turn 17."

"Thanks," Reno and Rude says to the young Turk. Reno kind of like the idea of him being a Turk even though he normally hated being associated with any form of authority. "I'll make sure not to lift anything off you in the future," he said to Tseng jokingly. Tseng shook both they hands and left to go write a mountain reports detailing this incident. He almost forgot the fact that he was in the middle of another job before this happened.

The two boys returned to the slums where they both received a very angry lecture from Rude's mother. Reno almost kept his promises about not lifting anything else from Tseng. It was not until years later after him and Rude became a Turk that he took another item from Tseng pockets…it was his PHS which he used to prank text a certain blond female Turk.


End file.
